


Hope and High Seas

by Kitsune_Moonstar



Series: Do Some Good [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Humor, Minor Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28921194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Moonstar/pseuds/Kitsune_Moonstar
Summary: The Wildmother has a task for Fjord.  It turns out a little differently than he expected.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Series: Do Some Good [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762039
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	Hope and High Seas

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Critical Role or its characters.

Fjord was still getting used to the odd calling that he gets when the Wildmother has a particular mission for him. Maybe calling wasn't quite the right word. There was this almost homing instinct telling him that he needed to be somewhere. Which was why he was currently sailing Balleater towards points unknown. To be fair, he had a guess at what might be going on. They had been hearing rumors of the slave trade rearing its ugly head along the Menagerie Coast.

Not for the first time, Fjord wished that it wasn't just himself and Caduceus and the rest of the crew. To be fair, the Nein hadn't been traveling together in some time. At least not the full group. Caleb and Essek had their hands full with their school these days while Veth and Yeza were busy with their reestablished alchemy shop. Normally, Beau, Jester, and Yasha would have come along, but Beau had an assignment from the Cobalt Soul, and the other two women had decided to tag along.

At least things were going well so far. It hadn't been hard to pin down the rumors to a more concrete route that the slavers were using. With fair winds and some luck when they had made port, it hadn't taken that long to track down vessel in question. They would be able to intercept it tomorrow. Fjord wasn't entirely sure what would happen then. They didn't exactly have plan or a lot of details on the crew they were facing. From the information that they had been able to gather, it was a smaller operation, only one ship, but there hadn't been a lot of detail.

Still, it didn't feel like they could wait to collect more information and actually come up a solid plan. Between the tug in his chest and the fact that they knew where the ship was, Fjord didn't want to wait to attack. Not when there were most likely lives at stake. From what they had heard, the ship had a full hold of "cargo", and Fjord wasn't going to let that stand. Even without the added backing of his goddess, this wasn't the sort of thing that he'd be able to turn a blind eye to. But it didn't make for an easy night's rest.

At gentle touch at his elbow brought Fjord out of his thoughts. Caduceus handed him a cup of tea.

"You look deep in thought."

Fjord sighed. "I have concerns about tomorrow. I wish we knew more about what we're facing, but it doesn't feel like we have time to wait for more information."

"Is worrying over it going to make tomorrow any easier?"

He shook his head.

"Then come get some rest. That will make a difference tomorrow."

It was good advice. Fjord followed Caduceus below decks, sipping his tea and trying to relax. He wished the others were here, but he was pretty sure that they could handle this with the crew that they had.

Fjord was regretting that thought the next day. It seemed like he'd jinxed them. Not for the battle; that had gone just fine. But the cargo of the slaver had turned out to be far more complicated to deal with than anyone had expected. Most of the slaves would be easy enough to either send home or help make new starts, but this ship had a special cargo that had been earmarked for a wizard: a set of identical half drow triplets. According to the captain of the ship, they were perfect for magical experimentation since they were identical. They were also toddlers.

Caduceus was furious. Fjord was furious as well, but he might be the more levelheaded of them at the moment which was something he had never expected to say. The good news was that the three girls appeared to be healthy and unharmed as far as they could tell. They had also taken to Caduceus immediately which was a great help. Of course, that just left Fjord to deal with the remains of the slaver crew. There was definitely a small part of Fjord that just wanted to throw them over the side and be done with it. Their captain had gone over the side thanks to an eldritch blast, and he had not been able to be retrieved alive.

With the remains of the slaver crew stowed safely in the brig, Fjord set off to find what Caduceus had done with the children and see if the man had any idea of what to do with them. The ship was not the best place for them, and Fjord didn't really think that they could take them in long term. Maybe Essek would have some ideas of where they could go since they were half drow, and given that he and Caleb were currently running a school, maybe they would have a better idea of what to do with toddlers in general.

Fjord wished Veth was here. She actually had experience with toddlers, though knowing her, there wouldn't have been any of the slaver crew left when she was done with them. Caduceus had wrangled the triplets into their cabin and had gotten them mostly cleaned up and in clothing that wasn't rags, but the cleric was looking a little frazzled when Fjord appeared in the doorway. The triplets were now asleep though, so there was that.

"We're headed back to Nicodranas. I figured we could probably use some help with our new charges. Can you message Veth and Caleb?"

"I'll be able to tomorrow. How long until we reach Nicodranas."

Fjord sighed. "At least two days if nothing goes wrong. Were they able to tell you anything about where they came from?"

Caduceus sighed. "The little I managed to find out isn't good. The three of them don't even have names. They have no memory of parents, and as much as I hate to say it, I don't think there is anyone looking for the three of them. Also, they can already do magic. I don't know how much, but at least one of them has cast that dancing lights spell that Caleb does."

Fjord bit back a sigh. Having three toddlers on the ship was complicated enough. Having three toddlers who knew an unknown amount of magic on board was a whole different kettle of fish. Still, they didn't have any way of getting the triplets back to Nicodranas. They'd just have to be careful and keep an eye on the three girls. How hard could it be?

Two and half days later they arrived in Nicodranas mostly intact, and Fjord had made the decisions that three toddlers on board their ship was at least two too many. Veth was waiting for them at the dock along with Yeza, Essek and Caleb. She looked rather amused at the state of himself and Caduceus.

"Welcome back. How was the trip?"

Fjord could hear the laughter in her voice. "It's been interesting."

Caleb and Essek shared a look.

"How are the triplets?"

Caduceus let out a deep sigh. "The triplets are fine. I could use a nap. They haven't managed to get themselves killed, though they certainly tried their best. They don't seem to know much magic besides a few cantrips, but they certainly have found inventive ways to use them."

Veth just laughed. "That's a toddler for you. I'm just glad I only had one. Where are they anyway?"

"Taking a nap with a crew member watching them to let us know as soon as they wake up," Fjord offered.

Essek arched an eyebrow at that. "This sounds like a measure born of experience."

"The first time we put them down for a nap and left them unattended the three of them somehow ended up in the crow's nest." Caduceus didn't quite look completely astonished, but it was clear that it was still a completely baffling event to him. "Is there a plan for what's going to happen to them?"

Caleb nodded. "They'll come back to the school with us for now. Essek and I are looking into a permanent placement, but until then they have a home with us."

"Do either of you have experience with toddlers?" Caduceus asked. "No offense, but most of your students are a good deal older than these three."

Essek and Caleb shared another look.

"I'm not going to ask how hard can it be since I know better than that, but I think we'll be able to manage. And there are several people one staff who have considerable experience with younger children, so we won't be completely on our own." Essek smiled. "Should we go wake them up?"

Fjord looked a Caduceus who just shrugged.

"I'll show you to their cabin."

It was a quick trip and a quiet one. Fjord stole several glances at Essek and Caleb who seemed calmer about this who mess than he would have expected. Still, they did deal with children on regular basis with that school of theirs, so maybe this was a better idea than it seemed. But in the past three days Fjord had come to realize that while he didn't dislike small children, he was very out of his depth with them. But he wanted these children to have a better chance at life than the start they'd gotten so far, and hopefully the Nein would be able to find some place for them to do that.

The gnome guarding the triplets gave them a nod and slipped out of the cabin when they arrived. The girls were still asleep. Caleb and Essek studied them.

"You mentioned that they didn't have names," Essek said softly. "Has that changed?"

Fjord shook his head. "We thought about it, but nothing we came up with really seemed to fit them, and we weren't sure if was the best idea. Do you two have any ideas?'

"We do," Caleb said absently, reaching out to smooth some of the white hair out of one of the girls' eyes. "But we wanted to meet them first and see if they approve of any of the names."

That made a certain amount of sense. Fjord watched as Essek and Caleb carefully woke the children and make introductions. He and Caduceus had gotten the girls to safe harbor. He could only hope that it meant that they had a better chance of a future going forward. 


End file.
